Gov. John Kasich ignores Ed FitzGerald in their only meeting of election season: 5 observations

Gov. John Kasich, right, agreed to participate Thursday in a Northeast Ohio Media Group editorial board interview featuring rival Ed FitzGerald, center. But Kasich barely acknowledged the Democrat during the hourlong meeting. At left is Green Party candidate Anita Rios.

(David Petkiewicz, Northeast Ohio Media Group)

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Gov. John Kasich had made it through his entire re-election campaign without publicly uttering his chief opponent's name.

Then the Republican slipped up – kind of – at the only meeting he agreed to have with Democrat Ed FitzGerald this election year. During an endorsement interview Thursday at the Northeast Ohio Media Group, he mistakenly called a reporter "Ed."

Yep. Ed had gotten into Kasich's head.

Given Kasich's wide lead in polls and fundraising, it was one moral victory for FitzGerald to savor between now and Nov. 4. And it was one of many highlights from their 90-minute face-off, which also included Green Party candidate Anita Rios.

A few other observations:

Kasich's body language and overall strategy said it all.

The governor and FitzGerald shook hands before and after the interview, but that was the extent of their interaction. FitzGerald, dressed in a suit and tie, seemed to be on the edge of his seat the entire time, eager to land a punch whenever possible. Kasich, open collar, sans tie, often slouched while using a second chair's armrest for extra comfort.

FitzGerald tried repeatedly to draw Kasich into a one-on-one debate. Each time, Kasich refused to take the bait. When FitzGerald turned to his left to try and catch Kasich's eye, the governor stared straight ahead or off to his other side. Kasich was more charitable to Rios, whom he looked toward most times she spoke. He even piggybacked off one of Rios' comments about the manufacturing economy.

Kasich declined to answer any question that FitzGerald posed directly. He only would answer when an editor or reporter in the room repeated FitzGerald's question.

Come to think of it, maybe "face-off" is a misnomer for this interview.

"I don't make any excuses for that," FitzGerald said, responding to an editorial board member's question. "I was careless about that and it was a mistake."

FitzGerald then tried to make Kasich's driving record an issue.

"He's also had problems with his driving," FitzGerald said, referring to a ticket Kasich received in 2008 for approaching a public safety vehicle with lights displayed. "I don't think he's very proud of that, and he had to apologize for that, too."

Kasich, in his only real acknowledgement of FitzGerald, began laughing.

"Well, governor," FitzGerald interjected, "you may laugh but when you were convicted of driving recklessly and then publicly berated the officer that gave you the ticket as an idiot" – yes, that happened – "I thought that was pretty disgraceful, didn't you?"

Kasich, his giggles gone, did not respond.

Kasich gave his most definitive thumbs-down yet to right to work.

Democrats fear a second Kasich term would bring anti-union right to work legislation. For the most part, Kasich has avoided being boxed in to a specific stance, especially when asked whether he would veto such a bill if it crossed his desk.

Observers will nonetheless find wiggle room in this answer Kasich offered Thursday, but it's the strongest statement we've heard from him on the issue: "In this state, as long as I'm governor, I do not anticipate a need for that, period."

FitzGerald wasn't pleased with that answer.

"He doesn't want to say on the record that he's against right to work," said FitzGerald, who believes Kasich is being careful to avoid alienating potential supporters if he runs for president in 2016 "So he keeps using these code words instead of just saying whether he would sign it or he would veto it. So we're left with not knowing."

Kasich dodged the presidential question.

Asked how he would balance his duties as governor with a hypothetical bid for the White House, Kasich – as FitzGerald later lamented – sidestepped the question.

"Well I'm spending my time in Cleveland, Youngstown and Akron and Columbus tonight," Kasich said in response to a question about early presidential caucus and primary states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. "I'm running for governor, so I'm not intending to do anything than go through this election, which is about 11 days away, and continue the efforts to rebuild and lift the state."

FitzGerald made slashing attacks but also avoided specifics.

FitzGerald, appearing before his hometown editorial board, spent little time presenting a positive case for his election, but rather a negative case against Kasich's.

One of his strongest hits came as he blasted Kasich for recruiting a friend – venture capitalist Mark Kvamme – to lead JobsOhio, the state's newly privatized approach to economic development. Kvamme, as NEOMG reported last year, reached out to Ohio State University about investing in his own firm before leaving JobsOhio.

FitzGerald, who prides himself as a reformer who cleaned up after a corrupt county administration, wondered about "the outcry that would have existed" had he privatized the county's development activity and installed a friend at the helm.

Yet FitzGerald, even when pressed for specifics, often spoke in general terms and quickly pivoted back to Kasich critiques when asked how he would do things differently.

Kasich was equally ambiguous at times, repeatedly avoiding a question from FitzGerald and board members about why he accepted a budget amendment last year that prohibits rape-crisis counselors from discussing abortion as an option with patients.

Listen to an audio file of the Oct. 23 endorsement interview with the three candidates: